Messages

10176

General Gaming / Re: Journalism Reform is here!!! Bloggers beware!!

« on: October 08, 2009, 09:05:54 PM »

Kingdom Hearts can never be bad, that is the truth.

I've honestly never seen the appeal...

Isn't that the game where you can kill Mickey, again, and again, and again...?

No, it isn't.

10177

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 08, 2009, 07:23:52 PM »

Well, to me it's a shame that so far there aren't plans for an HD version, especially since by the time this game is out all 3 companies will have motion control out in the market.  Just based on that concept art, it's a shame to have to settle with SD on this one.  Here's hoping they make the most of it being on Wii then.

10178

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Is Nintendo going to have a Fall 09 press summit this year ?

« on: October 08, 2009, 10:17:03 AM »

All I could find from the retailer meeting

Dec 03 Wii New Super Mario Bros Wii / 5800 Yen
Dec 03 Wii Wii Remote Blue
Dec 03 Wii Wii Remote Pink
Dec 05 Wii Poke Park Wii -Pikachu's big adventure-
Dec 17 Wii NHK Red White Quiz Match / 4800 Yen
Dec 23 DS Zelda Spirit Tracks

http://tog.namco-ch.net/
Tales of Graces - Dec 10
ToG = 7,329 yen
ToG + Wii + CCPro Bundle = 27,800 yen

http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/sengoku3/
Sengoku Musou 3 - Dec 3
SM3 = 7,140 yen

No megatons !!! 

Like I said: no damage control, no need for Megatons.  The allegedly rising Wii sales from the price cut certainly influenced things as well.  I don't think we'll see a big Nintendo event again until either a AAA title is ready for release or Wii sales start dropping off again in Japan.

10179

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories coming October 13th

« on: October 07, 2009, 03:56:41 AM »

Most just show Harry wandering around without having anything threatening him.

Because that's not gameplay.

There's only so much you can gleam  from a guy walking around.  You don't see puzzles, enemy encounters, or even this game's version of the famous Silent Hill Otherworld in the gameplay videos usually.  Just walking around and an occasional conversation cinematic in the snow.  Even Silent Hill 2 has more gameplay than that, and that's saying something.  As far as I'm concerned you might as well just have 7 minutes of the logo flashing on a black background for as much detail as you get on how the game works, especially since according to NWR's most recent Impressions if you wander around aimlessly like these "gameplay videos" usually show you get killed by packs of monsters within minutes.  This video is different, and I noted that I appreciate that.

10180

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories coming October 13th

« on: October 07, 2009, 01:17:39 AM »

2 New Gameplay videos courtesy of G4TV
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/699757/X-Play-Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories-Gameplay-Exclusive.html

Wow, that "ice" transition inside the cabin in the gameplay video is horrible.  You can literally see the game just swap the textures on those walls with no animation whatsoever.  Still, that's the closest to actual gameplay I've seen of this game yet.  Most just show Harry wandering around without having anything threatening him.

10181

General Gaming / Re: Journalism Reform is here!!! Bloggers beware!!

« on: October 07, 2009, 01:06:35 AM »

As I said, I'm not keen on the legislation, but I don't get the idea that it's a bad thing to say "Hey, we got this game for free instead of spending $60 on it."

Alright, let me play Devil's Advocate for a moment based on my overall cynical nature towards the masses: if a person is stupid enough to believe everything they read from one person without performing any investigative options of their own (such as reading multiple reviews by different people.  The internet's fairly good about that.), don't they deserve to get played by the industry?

What happens when all the reputable reviewers got their copy for free?

When all the reputable reviewers get their copies for free (and let's face it, most do) and it sways their opinion to an artificially-positive view of that product, it will be the death of journalism.  However, it is the job of the journalist (even the psuedo-journalist like the kind of bloggers this initiative is designed to impact) to be a professional and look at a product from beyond the perk and state what they actually think of it.  If we can't have that, the problem isn't with the perks but with the crop of journalists and that can only be fixed through education and discipline.  No amount of legislation is going to fix a journalist whose morals and ethics are already tainted.  And yes, I do in fact have a similar opinion of other professions.

Still, even assuming such a situation exists and you cannot trust the media it is your responsibility as a consumer to use good judgment and trust your own instincts based on what you know to be your values and tastes.  For example, let me present a game that the media in general hated last year: Alone in the Dark (the ps3 Inferno edition).  If I were to strictly follow the reviews I read on that matter, which were nearly universally-negative I would have never played one of the most surprisingly-enjoyable experiences of last year.  I, however, used my good judgment.  I studied the reviews (including quite a well-written positive review at GameCritics), read what had been fixed from previous versions, and made a call on what I believed to be a worthwhile purchase.  I have not regretted that decision since.

We're back to the issue at hand, though: my problem isn't that Full Disclosure would be invoked in the reviews, but how it would come about.  I don't like the method of someone enforcing their morals on others at the barrel of a gun.  And make no mistake, that's exactly what this is: the government using their police power to enforce their values on others.  And I'm going to stop there before I go into a full-out political rant.

10182

General Gaming / Re: Journalism Reform is here!!! Bloggers beware!!

« on: October 07, 2009, 12:17:08 AM »

As I said, I'm not keen on the legislation, but I don't get the idea that it's a bad thing to say "Hey, we got this game for free instead of spending $60 on it."

Alright, let me play Devil's Advocate for a moment based on my overall cynical nature towards the masses: if a person is stupid enough to believe everything they read from one person without performing any investigative options of their own (such as reading multiple reviews by different people.  The internet's fairly good about that.), don't they deserve to get played by the industry?

10183

General Gaming / Re: Journalism Reform is here!!! Bloggers beware!!

« on: October 06, 2009, 11:56:21 PM »

Ill thought out, toothless legislation that costs money and is only abused. Just what the internet ordered. Every game review could require disclosure that they got the game for free from the publisher.

You know, while I disagree with the legislation (don't want to get too far into politics here), I wouldn't mind if game reviews mentioned if the person doing the review got their copy for free or if they paid for it...

Seriously.  Indeed, it seems only honorable to give that information, regardless of any legislation.  Why on earth does anybody think it's a bad thing...?

Perhaps because some people see it as a first step in an increasing encroachment by the government into an environment it has no business legislating, an encroachment that in many ways should be a violation of Freedom of the Press if we're going to judge bloggers as reporters.  Some people also see it as an incredible double-standard to single out blogs alone in this initiative.  However, because this is the internet, the government has obviously determined that because it isn't literally "print" it does not count as Free Speech within United States jurisdiction and therefore they can do whatever the hell they want with it.  Although I agree with the ideals of this initiative I find this further encroachment of government where it doesn't belong disturbing in what it could mean for the future of First Amendment Rights and Freedom of the Press.

Oh and by the way: that wasn't an invitation to jump into the forbidden territory of politics.  That was just a simple explanation of why I have a problem with this, as could others.

10184

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 11:19:23 PM »

Epic Mickey doesn't even sound cool....

Well, not quite.  Oswald wasn't "forgotten" because Disney didn't give a crap about him, like Nintendo is with Luigi.  Disney literally didn't own Oswald again until a few years ago since Universal literally (legally) not only took Oswald from Walt but also bought out nearly all his animators out from under him.  Then after doing that (still without his knowing), they then called Walt out to their offices across the country and informed him that either he was with them or he had nothing.  Walt chose the latter, and on his way back home he sketched a soon-to-be iconic character on the train and named him Mortimer.  His wife told him that name was silly and renamed him Mickey, and from there it's history.

If Oswald's story in the game is anything like that, I could see him eventually becoming a good guy and teaming up with Mickey to get revenge at the company that held him captive for so long and wouldn't let him return home to his family for over 70 years.

Well, I don't need the history lesson since I read Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's wikipedia page too....

Alright, this is petty but I was something of a Disney history buff when I was much younger.  I even dressed up as Disney once as a child for Halloween.  I didn't need wikipedia to know who Oswald was.   

As for the story, if Kingdom Hearts is any indication Oswald will get a change of heart.  I've never seen a truly misguided "evil" character ever die in a Disney production, especially one in this case who's basically suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

10185

TalkBack / Re: Eurogamer Spills First Epic Mickey Details

« on: October 06, 2009, 10:19:51 PM »

Can any of you explain, in words, how Okami Wii was reading controller input to register "brush" input?

I get the feeling that's a joke question, but fine I'll answer it seriously: it reads the input fine.  If I do a movement with my hand when the celestial canvas is on-screen, an accurate representation of my hand movement appears on-screen accordingly.  The game just never seemed altogether sure what to do with the shape once I released the button.  Take that circle shape I mentioned earlier, which when performed in-game on dead trees restores them to full bloom.  However, probably 3/5 times I'd get the wind-blowing effect or the bomb effect, both of which also use circular shapes (a loop with two connecting lines for the wind, and a circle with a line sticking out for a bomb).  If I performed this shape with a large portion of sky in the background, I'd sometimes get the "sun" effect, and if water was in the background sometimes I'd get the "Lillypad" effect. Sometimes nothing would happen.  When I'd try to do a zig-zag for the lightning spell, I'd get the "cut" effect or nothing at all.  Stuff like that just plagued my experience with the game.

10186

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Is Nintendo going to have a Fall 09 press summit this year ?

« on: October 06, 2009, 09:46:19 PM »

They had a pretty good Oct. Conference in 2007 too didn't they?

I dunno.  Did they?  I remember that Smash Bros. got its own media event after E3, but I don't remember a notable Fall Conference that year.

10187

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Is Nintendo going to have a Fall 09 press summit this year ?

« on: October 06, 2009, 09:43:03 PM »

While a Zelda Wii trailer would pretty much make my month, I'm not giving up hope for this conference.  I get the feeling the only reason last year's conference was what it was is because Nintendo screwed up so phenomenally at E3 that year and needed to perform damage control.  This year, not so much.

10188

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 09:32:36 PM »

I LOVE the story so far and I hope they don't cop out at the end and have Oswald be a good guy posing as a bad guy or something to that effect. The way they're presenting the "forgotten" characters angle is intriguing and I'd be positively pissed if I was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He's like Luigi except overshadowed times 1000000000000000. Talk about being totally fame/appreciation cock-blocked.

Well, not quite.  Oswald wasn't "forgotten" because Disney didn't give a crap about him, like Nintendo is with Luigi.  Disney literally didn't own Oswald again until a few years ago since Universal literally (legally) not only took Oswald from Walt but also bought out nearly all his animators out from under him.  Then after doing that (still without his knowing), they then called Walt out to their offices across the country and informed him that either he was with them or he had nothing.  Walt chose the latter, and on his way back home he sketched a soon-to-be iconic character on the train and named him Mortimer.  His wife told him that name was silly and renamed him Mickey, and from there it's history.

If Oswald's story in the game is anything like that, I could see him eventually becoming a good guy and teaming up with Mickey to get revenge at the company that held him captive for so long and wouldn't let him return home to his family for over 70 years.

10189

TalkBack / Re: Eurogamer Spills First Epic Mickey Details

« on: October 06, 2009, 09:25:34 PM »

The only problem I had with Okami's drawing mechanic was drawing a straight line when crossing out names in your bounty book.  It wasn't perfect but I didn't have the amount of problems you did broodwars, you really had a problem with lightning?  That seems like i was the easiest it was just connecting a line from the cloud to the other point right?

No, there was a lightning technique as well that had you actually summoning a lightning bolt by drawing a zig-zag iconic lightning bolt on-screen (you learn it by climbing that huge tower in the main town).  I only ever managed to get the game to recognize that symbol twice, and one of those was to get the spell in the first place.

10190

General Gaming / Re: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Official Best Single-Player Game Ever Thread

« on: October 06, 2009, 09:10:01 PM »

MKDD wasn't highly rated, and Sunshine spoiled over time like milk.

Doubledash didn't get the overly-warm reception that the other games listed here got, but I do seem to remember some reviews gushing over it (like EGM's).  As for Sunshine, that experience was sour to begin with and over time it just got worse as people slowly realized how we'd all been suckered with such a mediocre game.

10191

TalkBack / Re: Eurogamer Spills First Epic Mickey Details

« on: October 06, 2009, 08:37:54 PM »

Ok so you didn't like the game. Did you like the puzzle mechanics?

Sometimes.  It was often a question of when they worked properly.  The celestial brush recognition software had a lot of problems recognizing a lot of important shapes.  For instance, I had a lot of problems with the sequence in the game where you had to quickly draw circles around Sakura Tree blossoms during a cutscene to make them bloom.  I'd draw the circles, and the game would just ignore me and then instantly tell me I failed.  I must have had to repeat the sequence over a dozen tedious times.  I had similar problems getting Lillypads to spawn on the water as well.  Then you had stuff like drawing lightning that only ever worked when the game felt like it.

As you can see, it all comes down to how Disney uses the drawing mechanic.  If it works perfectly and the puzzles are clever, more power to them.  But there has to be compelling experience around the motion control as well, something I don't think Okami managed.  Thankfully, that seems to be getting the proper attention in this project so far.

10192

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 08:29:05 PM »

Disney World was fun, but as previous posted, has not aged that well. I like Disneyland having everything close together, and they have been keeping it up.

Last I was there, they were renovating Disneyland Hotel.

Yeah they are constantly doing something to up keep it, they have done an amazing job of utilizing their space. California Adventure isn't a bad diversion from the park either.

I had the misfortune of visiting California Adventure in its first few years when it was really a pretty tacky theme park that was pretty much the exact opposite of what Walt Disney sought out to build when he built Disneyland (a tacky, generic amusement park complete with midway rides).  I thought the park was alright (and I loved the White Water Rafting ride at what I believe was called Grizzly Peaks and the Golden Dream show), but nothing special.  We did have an absolutely incredible view of the park from our room in the Grand Californian, though.  Yeah, we stayed there since at the time the Disneyland Hotel was still a total dive from all accounts.  The GC also had a great back-entrance to Californian Adventure, and more importantly Grizzly Peaks.

By the way, GP, you should give me a ring the next time you're thinking about coming down to Disney World. 

10193

General Gaming / Re: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Official Best Single-Player Game Ever Thread

« on: October 06, 2009, 08:24:15 PM »

If your initial reaction to this is frustration, you are a Nintendo fanboy. At the end of the day you should want to play fantastic games. Who cares what system it comes out on.  It's no differnt than the legions of people like Sean Malstrom who champion motion controls but for some odd reason they openly state they want Natal and the Sony wand to fail.  Gamers need to grow up. Movie buffs could care less what company releases new movies. They just want them to be good.

That said, if the sequel is anything like the first one, it will certainly live up to the hype.  Can't wait! 

Nah, we're just having good ol' dumb fun.

But again, top scores don't always equal the truth. HI MGS4. HI GTA4.

Indeed, just like Super Mario Galaxy; Super Mario Sunshine; and Mario Kart Doubledash.  Like you said, all in good fun.   

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TalkBack / Re: Eurogamer Spills First Epic Mickey Details

« on: October 06, 2009, 08:18:03 PM »

You sound like you've never played Okami. It's a great thing.

No, I played it.  I bought it, in fact, when it came out on Wii.  I never finished it, but I did make it to the end of the game and got so utterly bored by the game (I was doing the bead quests) that I just stopped playing it and sold it off.  I thought it was an extremely over-rated Zelda knockoff with a motion control element that didn't work properly, and the combat was made even more tedious than it already likely was on the PS2 by the implementation of Twilight Princess-esque waggling.  The dungeons were dull and the plot only slightly less so.  It was a gorgeous game, though, with the promise of being an awesome game.  I just don't think it ever got there.

That's why I'm a little wary of this game implementing Okami-style gameplay.

10195

TalkBack / Re: Eurogamer Spills First Epic Mickey Details

« on: October 06, 2009, 07:44:58 PM »

Making Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Mickey's Nemesis for this game is a stroke of genius, and it's really sad this is an angle they haven't been able to use till now.  The gameplay sounds very Okami-ish, though.  I'm not sure yet if that's a good or bad thing.

10196

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 05:20:58 PM »

I love disneyland, been there 3 times. It utilizes the limited space well, and is pretty easy to get from one land to another. Still haven't been to Disneyworld though.

I've been to both as well as Disneyland Paris, and all 3 do different things well.  Disneyland has by far the best version of the Haunted Mansion and the incredibly awesome Indiana Jones ride; Disneyland Paris has by far the best version of Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain (not to mention the awesome Nemo ride); and Disney World has pretty much something from everyone and by far the most to do period. I loved all 3 parks.  I especially liked how intimate Disneyland is, whereas Disney World feels very corporate and detached in some ways.  Disney World's also aged badly lately, since it's gotten a lot of new rides but the older rides haven't been updated as they should outside of the Haunted Mansion.

10197

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 05:13:55 PM »

I've never heard of any of these rides.  I've never been to Disney World or Disney Land.  My parents hated me. 

My parents took me (once ever, my sisters been like 18 times) and I still don't know half of this stuff.

I live in Orlando, FL so it's kind of my business to know this stuff.  Being a Disney nut and a season ticket holder helps as well.  ^_-

10198

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 05:11:38 PM »

A lot of old tomorrow land stuff would work.  The people mover, mission to mars or whatever its called... man I feel like I should be able to think of more old disney rides right now but I can't.

Mr Toad's Wild Ride is one... 20,000 leagues under the sea could be cool... have the bad crew ride in a ship that looks just like the submarine.

Oh hell yes, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride needs to be there, preferably in a sequence where he runs over a (robotic) bear to show his displeasure at what replaced him.     I actually really like the Winnie the Pooh ride, but I was a big fan of Mr. Toad.  And yeah, the various incarnations of the submarine ride should be there as well.

10199

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 05:03:27 PM »

I love that idea of Oswald being the lord of a realm of forgotten rides and cartoons.  I'm especially looking forward to seeing what "forgotten rides" end up in the game.

Man... Figment needs to be in it...

He can be the guy that joined Oswald's crew and then was invited back into the main fold later... but it never felt quite the same for him so he swings between allegiances throughout the game!

The Carousel of Progress should also been one of those (incredibly under-appreciated) "forgotten" Disney rides they use in the game for similar reasons.

The talking purple dragon Figment, Maxi, comes from the Journey Into Imagination ride at EPCOT in Disney World.  His ride was replaced by an incredibly bad ride called "Journey Into Your Imagination" after several years.  People complained about him being gone so he was put back into the existing ride, which still sucks.  He's basically just "there" and serves no other purpose.

As for other pre-Mickey Disney characters, they mostly just consist of throw-away generic characters from the Alice shorts and Disney's really early cartoon work.  Nothing anyone would really recognize outside of Oswald.

10200

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 06, 2009, 03:54:45 PM »

I love that idea of Oswald being the lord of a realm of forgotten rides and cartoons.  I'm especially looking forward to seeing what "forgotten rides" end up in the game.